Davis Eli "David" Ruffin (January 18, 1941 – June 1, 1991) was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of The Temptations (1964–68) during the group's "Classic Five" period as it was later known. He was the lead voice on such famous songs as "My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg".

Known for his unique raspy and anguished tenor vocals, Ruffin was ranked as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2008.[1] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 for his work with The Temptations.[2] Fellow Motown recording artist Marvin Gaye once said admiringly of Ruffin that, "I heard [in his voice] a strength my own voice lacked".[1]

Ruffin was born Davis Eli Ruffin in the rural unincorporated community of Whynot, Mississippi, 15 miles from Meridian, Mississippi. He was the third born son of Elias "Eli" Ruffin, a Baptist minister, and Ophelia Ruffin (née Davis). His siblings were Quincy B. Ruffin, Rita Mae Ruffin, and Jimmy L. Ruffin. Ruffin also had another sister, who died in infancy.

David Ruffin's parents were both natives of Mississippi. His father Eli worked as a truck driver at a lumber mill, and his mother Ophelia worked out of their home. Eli's parents had moved from Alabama to Mississippi, because of the harsh circumstances of living after the American Civil War. Prior to living in Alabama, David Ruffin's great grandparents, John Ruffin and Clara Ruffin, had moved from Bertie County, North Carolina. John Ruffin was a Civil War Veteran, fighting with the 14th United States Colored Heavy Artillery Regiment.

Ruffin's father was strict and at times violently abusive.[3] Ruffin's mother died just months after his birth in 1941; and his father married Earline, a schoolteacher, in 1942.[4] As a young child, Ruffin, along with his other siblings (older brothers Quincy and Jimmy, and sister Rita Mae), traveled with their father and their stepmother as a family gospel group, opening shows for Mahalia Jackson and The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, among others.[3][5] Ruffin sang in the choir at Mount Salem Methodist Church, talent shows and wherever else he could.[4] In 1955, at the age of 14, he left home under the guardianship of a minister and went to Memphis, Tennessee, with the purpose of pursuing the ministry.[3]

After some of his singing idols such as Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson had left gospel music and gone secular, Ruffin also turned in that direction. The 16-year-old Ruffin met and came under the guardianship of Eddie Bush and his wife Dorothy Helen, who took the teenager to Detroit, Michigan, where his brother Jimmy was pursuing a career in music while simultaneously working at the Ford Motor Company.

After moving to Detroit with the Bushes, Ruffin recorded his first released record with the songs "You and I" (1958) b/w "Believe Me" (1958). These songs were recorded at Vega Records and released under the name "Little David Bush", using the last name of his guardian. Ruffin would later recall how he initially recorded "a different kind of music", strongly influenced by the smoother pop and R&B of the time, when he first recorded in Detroit for Vega.[6]

In 1957, Ruffin met Berry Gordy, Jr., then a songwriter with ambitions of running his own label.[3] Ruffin lived with Gordy's father, a contractor, and helped "Pops" Gordy do construction work on the building that would become Hitsville USA, the headquarters for Gordy's Tamla Records (later Motown Records) label.[3][6] Ruffin's brother Jimmy would eventually be signed to Tamla's Miracle Records label as an artist.

Ruffin also worked alongside another ambitious singer, Marvin Gaye, as an apprentice at Anna Records, a Chess-distributed label run by Gordy's sister Gwen Gordy Fuqua and his songwriting partner Billy Davis.[3][6] Asked about Ruffin in the Detroit Free Press in 1988, Gordy Fuqua said: "He was very much a gentleman, yes ma'am and no ma'am, but the thing that really impressed me about David was that he was one of the only artists I've seen who rehearsed like he was on stage".[4] According to Ruffin, both he and Gaye would pack records for Anna Records.[7]

Eventually, Ruffin started recording at Anna Records, and recorded the song "I'm in Love" b/w "One of These Days" (1961), with the Voice Masters, a group which included future Motown producer, Lamont Dozier. Other group members included members of The Originals: Ty Hunter, CP Spencer, Hank Dixon and (Voice Masters and The Originals founder) Walter Gaines. (At one time, The Voice Masters also included another future Temptations member, Melvin Franklin, one of numerous people David would claim as a cousin).[3]

Ruffin eventually met an up-and-coming local group by the name of The Temptations. His older brother Jimmy went on a Motortown Revue tour with the Temptations, and he told David that they needed someone to sing tenor in their group. David showed interest in joining the group to Otis Williams whom he lived very close to in Detroit. In January 1964, Ruffin became a member of the Temptations after founding member Elbridge "Al" Bryant was fired from the group. Ruffin's first recording session with the group was January 9, 1964. Though both David and Jimmy were considered, David was given the edge, thanks to his performance skills. These were displayed when he joined the Temptations on stage during the label's New Year's Eve party in 1963.[8]

After joining the Temptations, the bespectacled Ruffin initially sang backgrounds while the role of lead singer mostly alternated between Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams. He did sing a few lead parts, both on stage and in the studio, during his first year with the group, but his leads on these studio tracks would not be released for over a year, as they were not considered good enough to showcase his vocals. However, Smokey Robinson, who produced and co-wrote most of the Temptations' material at this point, saw Ruffin during this period as a "sleeping giant" in the group with a unique voice that was "mellow" yet "gruff."[9] Robinson thought that if he could write just the 'perfect song' for Ruffin's voice, then he could have a smash hit.[9] The song was to be something that Ruffin could "belt out" yet something that was also "melodic and sweet".[9] When Robinson achieved his goal, the song, "My Girl", was recorded in November 1964 and released a month later. It became the group's first number-one single in 1965. "My Girl" subsequently became the Temptations' signature song, and elevated Ruffin to the role of lead singer and front-man.

Ruffin's most notable non-vocal contribution to the Temptations was the masterminding of their trademark four-headed microphone stand.[10] This enabled the other members to sing and do their dances without having to crowd around one microphone while the lead singer would sing into a separate microphone.

David Ruffin (center) with the Temptations 1967.

By 1967, however, difficulties with Ruffin became an issue for the group. He became addicted to cocaine and began missing rehearsals and performances.[11] Refusing to travel with the other Temptations, Ruffin and his then girlfriend, Tammi Terrell, traveled in a custom limo (with the image of his trademark black rimmed glasses painted on the door).[12] After the Supremes had their name changed to Diana Ross & the Supremes in early 1967, Ruffin felt that he should become the focal point of the Temptations, just as Diana Ross was for her group, and began demanding that the group name be changed to David Ruffin & the Temptations.[11] This led to a number of disagreements between Ruffin and the group's de facto leader, Otis Williams.[11]

In addition to the group's problems with Ruffin's ego, he began inquiring into the Temptations' financial records, demanding an accounting of the group's money.[13] This caused friction between Ruffin and Gordy.[13][14]

In June 1968, the Temptations agreed that Ruffin had finally crossed the line when he missed a June 22 Cleveland, Ohio, date with the Temptations in order to attend a performance by his new girlfriend, Barbara Gail Martin (Dean Martin's daughter).[15] Ruffin was fired on June 27, and replaced with Dennis Edwards, a former member of The Contours, who had been a friend of Ruffin and the group as a whole beforehand.[15] Though Ruffin himself personally encouraged Edwards to take his place, Ruffin began turning up unannounced at Temptations concerts during Edwards' first few dates with the group.[15] When the group started to perform a Ruffin-era song such as "My Girl" or "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", Ruffin would suddenly walk on to the stage, take the microphone from Edwards' hands, and steal the show, embarrassing the group but entertaining the fans.[15] According to Edwards, the adulation and Ruffin's pleas convinced the other four Temptations to give Ruffin a second chance, but when he arrived late to what was to be his return show with the group in Gaithersburg, Maryland, The Temptations decided to keep Edwards and drop considerations of rehiring Ruffin.[16][17]

In October 1968, Ruffin filed suit against Motown Records, seeking a release from the label and an accounting of his money.[13] Motown counter-sued to keep the singer from leaving the label and eventually the case was settled.[13] The settlement required Ruffin to remain with Motown to finish out his initial contract (Ruffin joined Motown as a solo artist and always had a separate contract from the other Temptations, which some felt caused a lot of the in-fighting within the group).[13]

Ruffin's first solo single was a song originally intended for the Temptations, "My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)". The single (from the album also entitled My Whole World Ended) was released in 1969, and reached the US Pop and R&B Top Ten. This was followed by the album Feelin' Good. A third album, titled David, was recorded in 1970–71, but was shelved by Motown and did not see commercial release until 2004. His next official release for Motown did not arrive until 1973 when David Ruffin was released.

In 1970 Ruffin recorded an album with his brother Jimmy, I Am My Brother's Keeper, for which they had minor hits with "When My Love Hand (Comes Tumbling Down)" and "Your Love Was Worth Waiting For".

While his solo career initially showed promise, Ruffin went into decline, reportedly in part because of his cocaine addiction and the lack of support from Motown.

After leaving Motown in 1977, Ruffin recorded for Warner Bros. Records, releasing the albums So Soon We Change (1979) and Gentleman Ruffin (1980). He later signed with RCA Records, accompanied by former Temptations colleague Eddie Kendrick, who chose to rekindle their friendship when Kendrick himself started experiencing problems with the Temptations.

In 1982, Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks re-joined the Temptations for the recording of their album Reunion and a tour to promote the album. The album included the R&B hit "Standing on the Top" with Rick James. The reunion tour was short lived, however, as Ruffin started to miss shows as a result of his cocaine addiction, leading the group to be fined thousands of dollars. Otis Williams fired Ruffin from the group for the second and final time (along with Kendricks, whose voice was weakened due to heavy smoking) by Christmas 1982.[19]

Ruffin started touring with Kendrick (who dropped the "s" from his last name at this time) as a duo act in 1985.

Ruffin was sentenced in 1982 to six months in a low-security prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, for failing to pay taxes during the mid-1970s. On May 19, 1986, he pleaded no contest to a charge of receiving and concealing stolen property worth less than $100 (a Colt .32-caliber handgun) and was fined $50 plus $100 in court costs. Charges of assault and battery and receiving stolen property worth more than $100 were dropped.[4] A 1987 cocaine arrest landed him in jail for repeated parole violations.[20]

In 1985, longtime Temptations fans Hall & Oates teamed up with Ruffin and Kendrick to perform at the re-opening of the Apollo Theater in New York. Their performance was released as a successful live album and single. The four singers also sang a medley of Temptations hits at Live Aid on July 13, 1985. John Oates later wrote a minor hit single for Ruffin and Kendrick, but the two duos fell out, allegedly due to Daryl Hall's objections to Ruffin's heavy drug use. After being inducted in 1989 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (along with the other Temptations) Ruffin, Kendrick and Dennis Edwards began touring and recording as "Ruffin/Kendrick/Edwards: Former Leads of The Temptations". On August 17, 2013, in Cleveland, Ohio, The Official R&B Music Hall of Fame inducted David Ruffin as a solo artist and member of The Temptations. His family was on hand for this great honor.

Ruffin was married twice. His first marriage was to Sandra Barnes in 1961, with whom he had three daughters, Cheryl, Nedra and Kimberly.[21] In 1976, Ruffin married Joy Hamilton.[22] He also had one son (David Eric Little who later changed his name to David Ruffin Junior) with his former girlfriend Genna Sapia.[23] After his death, Sapia would add "Ruffin" to her last name. The two lived together, but were never married.[24]

After a successful month-long tour of England with Kendricks and Edwards, David Ruffin died on June 1, 1991, in a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, hospital of "an adverse reaction to drugs" – namely cocaine. Although the cause of death was ruled an accident,[26] Ruffin's family and friends suspected foul play, claiming that a money belt containing the proceeds from the tour ($300,000) was missing from his body.[27] He had just finished recording the single "Hurt the One You Love" for Motorcity Records. Michael Jackson paid the funeral services. In The Temptations television mini-series, Ruffin's beaten body is depicted as being thrown from a moving car in front of a hospital, where he dies. Also stated in the mini-series was that his body remained unclaimed in a morgue for a week after his death. As a result, Ruffin's estate filed suit against NBC and other major players involved in the making of the series, claiming defamation. According to the plaintiffs in the case, Ruffin was actually taken to the hospital by a limousine and was escorted to the waiting area by his driver, who informed the attendants of his identity. The Ruffin children further state that his body was claimed by one of them within a few days after his death. (Ruffin's estate lost the lawsuit; the ruling against them was upheld on appeal.)[28]

Ruffin had many admirers among his fellow artists, especially for the emotive power he brought to every song he sang. "Nobody could sing like David Ruffin", said his close friend and colleague Martha Reeves (of Martha and the Vandellas fame).[29] His contemporary, label-mate, and long-time acquaintance Marvin Gaye was particularly impressed with the virility of Ruffin's voice. Gaye said Ruffin's work "made me remember that when a lot of women listen to music, they want to feel the power of a real man".[1]

Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates, one of Ruffin's biggest fans, said, "His voice had a certain glorious anguish that spoke to people on many emotional levels".[1] Ruffin himself said, "I don't know what kind of voice I have, I really don't...it's just about the feeling I get for the song".[5]

The raspy-voiced Rod Stewart fell in love with Ruffin's voice after he heard "I Wish It Would Rain". "It jumped out of the speakers and ravished my soul", Stewart exclaimed.[19] Stewart would later become friends with Ruffin. "His voice was so powerful – like a foghorn on the Queen Mary", Stewart told Rolling Stone magazine in 2005.[19]

Despite nearly 40 years in the music business, David Ruffin is possibly best remembered for his time in the Temptations.

In 1998, NBC aired The Temptations, a four-hour television mini-series about the group's career, Ruffin being portrayed by Leon Robinson (who uses the professional name "Leon"). The actor won high praise for his performance, but Ruffin's family was upset by the way the series portrayed him, and filed a lawsuit against the series' producers and Otis Williams, whose memoir had been the source material.[28] The case was dismissed in favor of the defendants, with Williams later claiming that he had no real control over the presentation of the material.

Grand Puba of Brand Nubian referenced the singer on the 1990 single "All for One", stating: "I hit a beat and swing a note as if my name was David Ruffin".

Rapper Machine Gun Kelly also referenced the singer on his 2013 song "See My Tears" stating:"Fought every temptation shit, I guess I’m David Ruffin huh"?

The first song on Fall Out Boy's 2005 CD From Under the Cork Tree was to have been titled "My Name is David Ruffin...and These are The Temptations" but for legal reasons, the name was changed (to "Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued").

American rap rock group Gym Class Heroes references Ruffin in the 2008 song "Like Father, Like Son (Papa's Song)" from their album The Quilt stating: "I never understood temptation. But I guess we both got a little David Ruffin in us".